BIOL 251 General Microbiology - Lecture 1: History and Taxonomy

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and definitions from the lecture on the history of microbiology, taxonomy, and the characteristics of different types of microbes.

Bacteria

Unicellular prokaryotes

Archaea

Unicellular prokaryotes; often found in extreme environments

Eukaryotes

DNA is contained in the nucleus

Fungi

Unicellular or multicellular eukaryotes; absorb organic material from the environment

Protozoa

Unicellular eukaryotes; may be phototrophic or chemotrophic

Algae

Unicellular or multicellular eukaryotes; photosynthetic (not plants)

Viruses

Acellular; composed of nucleic acid and protein; obligate intracellular parasites

Taxonomy

The science of classification of biological organisms

Taxon

Category used to classify organisms based on their relatedness

Phylogeny

Study of the evolutionary history of organisms

Binomial nomenclature

Each organism gets two names; Genus name and Species name

Species

A population of cells with similar characteristics

Clone

A population of cells derived from a single parent cell

Strain

Pure culture of the same species that may not be identical in all ways

Isolate

A strain that has been isolated from the environment or a mixed population

Viral species

A population of viruses with similar characteristics that occupies a particular ecological niche

Microbiome/Normal Microbiota

Microbes that live in and on your body

Pathogen

Disease-producing organism

Emerging infectious diseases

New, changing, or increasing pathogens

Cell theory

All living things are made of cells

Theory of spontaneous generation

Life can arise spontaneously from non-living matter

Theory of biogenesis

Living cells arise only from preexisting cells

Germ theory of disease

Microorganisms can cause disease